ROMEO AND JULIET IN 10 MINUTES – Lieder Theatre

To clarify, Romeo and Juliet in 10 minutes was performed as just one of the segments in the REeNTRANCE event that opened GPAC on 25 March 2022.

There were many great segments, and it may seem off to review just one small part of a show, but this one stood out for me so I wrote a few word (fewer than my usually long-winded efforts anyway) and here’s what I wrote.

The “Romeo and Juliet in 10 minutes” play was the funniest thing I’ve seen in ages… not just on a stage or in Goulburn… but in film or TV or anywhere.

Steve Routley (or maybe that should be Steven Maxwell William Routley), Blake Selmes and Ryan Pants-something didn’t just get through the play in ten minutes, they swooped through a range of comic styles and elements… integrating farce, slapstick, clever wordplay, double (and triple) entendres and more along the way.

You don’t master comedy, you submit to it and these guys absolutely submitted and committed… and even though they set a frenetic pace, sold every single beat along the way.

You know when people say they had tears from laughing but they never really do? I had tears.

My favourite line (maybe a spoiler if you can spoil such a thing) was “I don’t want to kiss you Ryan”… which like all repeated comedy in history doesn’t do much on the page but was hilarious in context.

They say death is easy, it’s comedy that’s hard, and this didn’t just work because three Schmucks had a bit of a crack and a friendly audience was supportive… it worked because three outrageously gifted performers with prodigious comedy chops worked it out, worked their arses off, gave it all, and gave a performance I can’t imagine many comic performers in the world surpassing.

It was THAT good.

Bravo. Brava? Brave!